England -- Fiction; Fox hunting -- Fiction; Humorous stories; Hunting stories
Mrs. Jogglebury, who had sat listening in ecstasies, saw the offended eye
and pouting lip of the boy, and attempted to make up with exclamations of
'That _is_ a clever fellow! That _is_ a wonder!' at the same time showing
him the sugar.
'A little more (puff) tea, my (wheeze) dear,' said Jogglebury, thrusting
his great cup up the table.
'Hush! Jog, hush!' exclaimed Mrs. Crowdey, holding up her forefinger, and
looking significantly first at him, and then at the urchin.
'Now, "Obin and Ichard," my darling,' continued she, addressing herself
coaxingly to Gustavus James.
'No, _not_ "Obin and Ichard,"' replied the child peevishly.
'Yes, my darling, _do_, that's a treasure.'
'Well, _my_ (puff) darling, give me some (wheeze) tea,' interposed
Jogglebury, knocking with his knuckles on the table.
'Oh dear. Jog, you and your tea!--you're always wanting tea,' replied Mrs.
Jogglebury snappishly.
'Well, but, my (puff) dear, you forget that Mr. (wheeze) Sponge and I have
to be at (puff) Snobston Green at a (wheeze) quarter to eleven, and it's
good twelve (gasp) miles off.'
'Well, but it'll not take you long to get there,' replied Mrs. Jogglebury;
'will it, Mr. Sponge?' continued she, again appealing to our friend.
'Sure I don't know,' replied Sponge, eating away; 'Mr. Crowdey finds
conveyance--I only find company.'
Mrs. Jogglebury Crowdey then prepared to pour her husband out another cup
of tea, and the musical snuff-box, being now left to itself, went off of
its own accord with:
'Diddle, diddle, doubt,
My candle's out.
My 'ittle dame's not at 'ome--
So saddle my hog, and bridle my dog'
And bring my 'ittle dame 'ome.'
A poem that in the original programme was intended to come in after 'Obin
and Ichard,' which was to be the _chef-d'oeuvre_.
Mrs. Jog was delighted, and found herself pouring the tea into the
sugar-basin instead of into Jog's cup.
Mr. Sponge, too, applauded. 'Well, that _was_ very clever,' said he,
filling his mouth with cold ham.
'"Saddle my dog, and bridle my hog"--I'll trouble you for another cup of
tea,' addressing Mrs. Crowdey.
'No, not "saddle my dog," sil-l-e-y man!' drawled the child, making a pet
lip: '"saddle my _hog_."'
'Oh! "saddle my hog," was it?' replied Mr. Sponge, with apparent surprise;
'I thought it was "saddle my dog." I'll trouble you for the sugar, Mrs.
Jogglebury'; adding, 'you have devilish good cream here; how many cows have
you?'
'Cows (puff), cows (wheeze)?' replied Jogglebury; 'how many cows?' repeated
he.
'Oh, _two_,' replied Mrs. Jogglebury tartly, vexed at the interruption.
'Pardon me (puff),' replied Jogglebury slowly and solemnly, with a full
blow into his frill; 'pardon me, Mrs. (puff) Jogglebury (wheeze) Crowdey,
but there are _three_ (wheeze).'
'Not in milk. Jog--not in milk,' retorted Mrs. Crowdey.
'Three cows, Mrs. (puff) Jogglebury (wheeze) Crowdey, notwithstanding,'
rejoined our host.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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